This bill allows minors under 18 to participate in certain court arraignments via electronic appearance instead of appearing in person. It permits this under specific conditions, such as when the minor is hospitalized, facing extreme weather, requesting the option with a guarantee of non-monetary release, or when no Youth Part judge is available. For electronic appearances involving minors, the court must determine that the virtual format serves the child's best interests and that physical attendance would unnecessarily disrupt important activities like school or medical treatment. The law also requires that all parties, including the prosecutor and the minor's legal advisor, consent to the electronic process on the record.
This bill prohibits the manufacture, sale, and distribution of chatbot toys within the state, directly affecting toy manufacturers, sellers, and distributors. It defines a chatbot toy as any children's toy that includes an artificial intelligence companion and bans all commercial activities related to these products. Enforcement is handled by the state attorney general, who can seek court orders to stop violations and impose civil penalties of up to fifteen thousand dollars per day without needing to prove that a specific person was harmed. The law includes a five-year expiration clause, meaning it would automatically end five years after it takes effect.
Prohibits manufacturers or operators of networked camera devices to enable coordinated surveillance features on such devices as a default feature without first obtaining affirmative opt-in consent from the owner; requires disclosure of data rights for owners of such devices; prohibits coordinated surveillance features to be disclosed to law enforcement without a warrant; makes related provisions.
Designates records and information relating to a patient who has been deceased for a period of fifty years or longer as historic records no longer subject to privacy protections; provides that such provisions shall not be construed as requiring a facility to retain records for any particular length of time.
This bill allows social services workers, including those in child welfare, to complete required training courses using remote or distance learning methods. It permits counties to adopt local rules enabling their departments to use these online options for specific training needs, provided the courses verify that participants are present and can interact with instructors. The change applies to prospective and current agency personnel involved in foster care, adoption, and preventive services, effective immediately upon passage.
Relates to bans from online dating services based on content; requires retention of records where necessary to maintain enforcement of fraud bans or content bans; makes related provisions.
This bill establishes specific deadlines for government agencies to respond to freedom of information requests, aiming to speed up access to public records. It requires agencies to provide requested records within 180 days for older requests, 90 days for requests made in 2028, and 60 days for requests starting in 2029, while also mandating that agencies accept and reply to requests via email. The law includes provisions to prevent agencies from delaying responses due to a lack of staff or the volume of records, except in cases involving federal legal barriers, safety concerns, or massive record sets. Additionally, the bill mandates that agencies with websites must allow for online submission of requests and requires them to use electronic methods whenever reasonably possible.
Enacts the "no gambling ads for kids act" under which certain covered platforms and social media platforms are prohibited from advertising a service permitting gaming-related gambling, predictive market wagering, online sweepstakes gaming, sports-related gambling, and/or traditional online gambling to minors.
This bill prohibits public and nonpublic schools, including charter schools, from purchasing or using biometric identifying technology like facial recognition for most purposes. The law allows exceptions for fingerprinting prospective employees to comply with education laws, logging into digital devices for academic use, and identifying employees who have provided written consent or whose unions have consented. The bill requires the director of the state education department to prepare a detailed report analyzing privacy risks, civil rights impacts, security effectiveness, data retention, breach risks, costs, and other factors before any such technology can be authorized for school use. This report must be made public and shared with state leaders while seeking feedback from teachers, parents, safety experts, and privacy advocates through public hearings.
Requires all state entities, including local governments, to notify affected individuals in the event of a data breach where information is compromised; defines "cybersecurity incident".
